The invention relates to improvements in apparatus for supplying flowable printing ink to a printer for webs or strips of flexible sheet material, such as cigarette paper. More particularly, the invention relates to improvements in apparatus for supplying a flowable mixture of printing ink and a compressed gas to the inlet portion of a printer the outlet portion of which applies printing ink to the running strip.
A cigarette rod making machine employs a maker of a continuous rod-like filler of smokable material, such as natural, artificial and/or reconstituted tobacco, and an envelope which is a converted web or strip of cigarette paper draped around the rod-like filler in such a way that the marginal portions of the strip overlie each other and form a tubular wrapper with a seam extending longitudinally of the thus obtained continuous cigarette rod. The leader of the cigarette rod is thereupon severed at regular intervals so that the cigarette rod yields a file of discrete plain cigarettes of unit length or multiple unit length ready to be admitted into storage, into the magazine of a packing machine, or directly into a filter tipping machine wherein the plain cigarettes are united with filter mouthpieces to form therewith filter cigarettes of unit length or multiple unit length.
As a rule, the web of cigarette paper is provided with printed matter prior to entering the wrapping station. For example, the running web or strip of cigarette paper is normally provided with so-called stamped matter or imprint which can represent the trademark or the trade name of the manufacturer and/or distributor of cigarettes and/or other information. In order to ensure that the printed matter applied to short or long series of discrete plain or filter cigarettes (and more particularly to a practically endless length of cigarette paper ahead of the wrapping station) will satisfy the most exacting requirements, not only the quality of each imprint must be considered with great care, but it is equally important to many smokers to ensure that the shade and/or other characteristics of printed matter on each of a practically infinite number of successively turned out plain or filter cigarettes be selected and maintained with an utmost degree of accuracy. In many or most instances, the degree of accuracy depends upon the rate at which printing ink is being released or discharged from a source, e.g., a cartridge. Such cartridge is often installed to discharge printing ink onto so-called feeding rollers which, in turn, transfer ink onto a roller having a profiled peripheral surface coming into actual ink-applying contact with selected portions of one side of the running strip. Reference may be had, for example, to published German patent application Serial No. A1 196 48 567.